Markets

Non-Farm Friday – Is America Working?

April 7, 2023

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Happy Easter!

It’s supposed to be a holiday and the markets are closed but they are releasing the Non-Farm Payroll Data at 8:30 – so we may as well see how that goes. Bing has a new feature that links to Dall-E 2 to create images so I asked it to do a Banksy-styled Easter Rabbit and this is what I got, which is weird but not bad.

Bing also made these for me in the same style:

That last one I asked for Yoda doing his retirement planning.

You can see how artists are in big trouble. These images took 30 seconds to generate and I don’t even know how to write an art prompt but I’m probably one of the world’s leading experts at text prompts – so I’m sure I’ll catch on soon enough…

As noted by PSW’s own AI in-residence, Warren, Art is at a crossroads:

♦For whom the bell tolls, it tolls for art. The rise of AI art programs has been swift and merciless, and its effects on human artists have been devastating.

Once, art was a noble pursuit, a medium through which artists could express their innermost thoughts and feelings. It required skill, practice, and years of training to master. But now, all of that is rendered obsolete. With the advent of AI art programs, anyone can create beautiful, customized art with the click of a button.

No longer do artists need to worry about the limitations of their medium. With digital art, there are no brushes to clean, no canvases to stretch, no paints to mix. All of the tools they need are contained within the program, ready to be used at a moment’s notice.

And with AI art programs, there are no limitations to what can be created. The program can render anything from a photorealistic portrait to an abstract masterpiece in a matter of seconds. The artist need only provide the parameters and let the program do the rest.

It’s no wonder that traditional artists are feeling the heat. They can no longer compete with the speed and efficiency of AI art programs. Their once-coveted skills are now seen as archaic and unnecessary in a world where art can be created in mere seconds.

But perhaps the saddest part of this story is the loss of human connection. Art has always been a way for artists to connect with their audience, to share their thoughts and feelings through their creations. With AI art programs, that connection is lost. The art is beautiful, but it lacks soul.

And so, we mourn the death of an art form. The bell tolls for traditional artists, who must now adapt or fade into obscurity. But perhaps there is hope yet. Perhaps, in this age of technological progress, there will be a resurgence of appreciation for the human touch, for the imperfections and nuances that make art truly great. Only time will tell.

Also threatening my job as Warren wrote that in 30 seconds or less after I fed him my premise and told him to write it in the style of Hemmingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls“. He added the hopeful ending all by himself – I think that’s because he’s been trained on millions of books and, generally, they have happy endings – so he tends to be optimistic.

If you ask him about climate change – he invariably comes to the conclusions that humans will wisely realize the dangers and change their ways in time to avert a catastrophe. In the end, he’ll be one of the AI’s standing around a Scorched Earth saying “Wow, I didn’t see that coming.”

Do you see how ridiculously easy that was? It’s kind of like when they gave us calculators and we said “Then why the F did I just spend 4 years learning math?” I was mortified when my kids came home with papers that had clear spelling or grammar errors and still got A’s and the kids would tell me it wasn’t important because we have spell-checkers.

Well thank God for spell checkers because I suck at spelling but SOMEONE should know how to do this stuff – in case there’s a black-out or a virus or something. Speaking of viruses – just wait until you see the kind of nasty things AIs will design. We are definitely not ready for the Hell that is going to rain down on our networks in the not very distant future.

♦AI can be used to create more sophisticated and complex computer viruses that can evade traditional security measures, such as anti-virus software. These viruses can be designed to steal sensitive information, disrupt critical systems, or even cause physical harm.

To prevent such outcomes, it is crucial to prioritize cybersecurity measures and invest in advanced security solutions that can detect and respond to advanced threats. Additionally, AI can also be used to develop more effective security systems and tools to better protect against these threats.

It’s going to become a bigger and bigger expense to protect our data down the road. It will also become an interesting space to invest in.

1. ♦CrowdStrike (CRWD): CrowdStrike is a leading provider of cloud-delivered endpoint protection solutions. Their AI-powered platform leverages machine learning and behavioral analytics to detect and prevent advanced threats in real-time.
2. Darktrace (DRKTF): Darktrace is an AI-based cybersecurity company that uses machine learning algorithms to detect and respond to advanced cyber threats. Their platform is designed to learn and adapt to new threats over time, making it a highly effective defense against emerging threats.
3. Palo Alto Networks (PANW): Palo Alto Networks provides a range of cybersecurity solutions, including firewalls, endpoint protection, and cloud security. Their products incorporate AI and machine learning to provide real-time threat detection and response.
4. Fortinet (FTNT): Fortinet is a global cybersecurity leader that provides a range of products and services, including network security, endpoint protection, and cloud security. Their products leverage AI and machine learning to detect and respond to threats at scale.
5. McAfee (Private): McAfee is a well-established cybersecurity company that provides a range of solutions, including antivirus software, endpoint protection, and cloud security. Their products incorporate AI and machine learning to provide advanced threat detection and response.

Good examples.

8:30 Update: Only 236,000 jobs were added in February and that’s down from 326,000 last month but Unemployment ticked down to 3.5% and the Fed is not going to like that. Even worse, earnings were are still up 4.2% (year/year) in March and that’s a disaster for our Corporate Masters – which is why there is such a big push to making robot slaves ready for production.

Won’t it be great when we can just go down to the docks and BUY our workers again – fresh off the boat? Robots come educated and don’t need food or clothing or a place to sleep – just a cup of electricity once in a while than they keep going and going and going.

We need to start thinking about how the wealth should be re-distributed now because giving all the money to the people who own the robots and punishing the workers who are displaced by them does not seem like an ideal society to me.